As Group President for Public Policy and External Affairs in New York and Connecticut for Verizon Communications, Paul Crotty played an important part in their post-September 11 recovery plan. In the aftermath of the terrorist attacks, Verizon faced the tough task of trying to restore their downtown telecommunication services. Underground cables at a Verizon building at 140 West Street were badly damaged, yet it was essential to restore phone lines in order to facilitate the coordination of emergency services. At one point, as a stop-gap measure to restore service, Verizon workers ended up stringing phone lines out the windows of police headquarters to their Pearl Street switching station. They also put in 18,000 emergency phone lines in the days following the attack.
Crotty was named as one of Mayor Giuliani’s selections for the Lower Manhattan Redevelopment Corporation’s board — the group that will oversee the reconstruction of the World Trade Center site. The board is made up of 11 members, seven of whom were nominated by Governor Pataki with four being nominated by Giuliani. Its responsibilities will include directing the design of the site and being responsible for the allocation of billions of dollars of federal, state and private funds for the work.
Crotty, who served as New York City Corporation Counsel during Giuliani’s first term, also served in the Koch Administration as Commissioner of Finance and Commissioner of Housing. ♦
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